


A Scent of Autumn

by Hannibalsimago, purplesocrates



Category: Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom, Jagten | The Hunt (2012), Rejseholdet | Unit One
Genre: Do not copy/repost this story to another website, Fluff, Hannibal Extended Universe, Kissing, M/M, Rare Pair, Rejsehunt, Therapy Dog, mentions of trauma, rare meat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 09:09:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20757899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hannibalsimago/pseuds/Hannibalsimago, https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplesocrates/pseuds/purplesocrates
Summary: Allan gets a therapy dog and Lucas has no idea!Thank you to my wonderful co-author, Purplesocrates, who created the lovely moodboard.





	A Scent of Autumn

Lucas always thought about Fanny, his beloved Spaniel, this time of year. How she would love running through the leaves and woods anytime, but especially in the autumn. At first, it was a hollow ache, he stopped hiking in the fall so that he wouldn’t remember. He allowed himself an occasional trip to the pet store in town; his only excuse was to look at the new puppies. If it was more frequent than that, he couldn’t take the stab of remorse he felt, walking away and leaving them in the shop. 

Being with Allan always helped him feel better, and in time, they both took autumn trips or hiked. He hadn’t gotten back to hunting yet, but it felt like he could take his time with that. He stopped at the liquor store and picked up a six-pack of the local microbrew. Their Oktoberfest was pretty tasty, and it would go well with the pork, apple and potato stew Allan said he was making. He had to laugh at that, Allan cooking. Well, if it didn’t turn out, they could order a pizza and get buzzed. 

He drove up to Allan’s place, standing on the porch, holding the grocery bag, and fighting with his wallet to get his house key out of his pocket. He must have heard him swearing because suddenly the door opened, and Allan grabbed the brown grocery bag. As he crossed the threshold, a petite, chocolate-brown-and-tan Kelpie mix runs out from under the sofa and puts itself between Allan and Lucas, barking ferociously at Lucas. 

“Pippa! Hush! This is Lucas, little one. Shhh.”

“ALLAN!” He’s not sure he’s heard that sound from Lucas except in the bedroom. 

“SHHHH! You’ll scare her more!”

“Allan,” Lucas gets down on hands and knees, to look at the adorable dog. “Why? When? Tell me everything!” He starts to cry tears of happiness. 

Allan puts the grocery bag down and scoops up Pippa, cuddling her close. “It was my therapist’s idea. Pippa’s my therapy dog. I was on a waiting list, which took forever, and I just got her yesterday.” She quiets, and Lucas puts out a hand and lets her smell him. She gives his finger a lick, and Lucas looks at Allan for permission. “Go ahead. I think she’ll let you pet her.” 

Lucas reaches out with the finger that got licked and stroked her soft head, watching her eyes close in delight. His heart felt like it was going to burst. “Allan, she’s wonderful.” 

“I need to get back in the kitchen. Can you play with her a little?” 

“Of course!” 

“Would you take off your shoes please?” Allan asked quietly. “I’m glad you came over,” he said and bent down to give Lucas a loving kiss. Lucas starts to untie his shoelaces, and that proves interesting enough that Pippa comes over to investigate and chase the laces. Allan watches the total concentration between the two of them for a minute or two, then picks up the grocery bag and carries it to the kitchen. 

He puts the beer in the refrigerator and the rustic rye bread on the kitchen counter. He takes the lid off of the stewpot, and the aromas of sage, apple cider, mustard, pork, potato, and onion fill the kitchen. “Oh my god, Allan! That smells fantastic! Did you put cider in it?”

“Yes, I did,” said Allan blushing a little. 

Lucas walks in the kitchen in his stocking feet, followed by Pippa. He sees a small bowl on the floor, sitting on a folded towel, against one of the kitchen walls. Pippa makes a beeline for it and starts to eat noisily. “What did you...Ummm...Let me see little one.” Lucas distracts the dog from the bowl and bends over to have a closer look. “Allan Fisher! Cereal and milk is not dog food!” 

“Hey! It’s not sugar-coated. It’s corn flakes! If it’s good enough for me…” Allan laughs, stirring apples, cider vinegar, and parsley into the stew with a wooden spoon and gets a frown from Lucas. He raps the spoon on the corner of the pot and points it at Lucas. “Yes, I know it’s not the best for her, but I didn’t get to the pet store yet. They were shut yesterday, and today I’ve been run off my feet between work and this. So, cereal.” He goes back to stirring the stew and lowers the flame, covering it again.

“Why didn’t you call me? I was right by there!” 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t have time for anything, honest! She was delivered late yesterday. I got an urgent call and had to drop everything. I picked her up and filled out all the paperwork to get her a mandatory vet appointment, not to mention all the insurance papers. So when I got home, she got cereal and milk, and I crashed.”

Lucas comes over and hugs Allan. “I’m sorry! I know it can be overwhelming.”

“I only got a chance to pet-proof a small area because I didn’t know when she was coming. Maybe you can help me get her settled? Plus I have to take her for training for both of us. They are going to hate me at work.”

“They won’t! You need her, and she needs you.” 

Allan tears up a bit at that and Lucas walks over and envelops him in a huge hug, “I love you, my brave darling. Pippa is wonderful,” murmurs Lucas. Pippa, who has decided it’s more important to be fussed over, wandered over and gave a small yip. Lucas lets Allan go, and he bends down to pick up her up. 

“How old is she?” asks Lucas.

“Shall we sit on the sofa for a bit? They told me she’s just shy of a year old,” said Allan. He carries her tenderly in his arms and sits in the middle of the sofa with Lucas next to him. Understanding that it’s crucial that Allan and Pippa bond, Lucas watches the two of them and beams. Allan allows another pet from Lucas who asks if he can check the bedroom. Allan looks puzzled and nods yes. Lucas rises and walks into the bedroom to make sure it’s pet safe. 

When he comes back out twenty minutes later, both of them are sound asleep. He really must be exhausted, poor thing. Taking pity on him, Lucas checks the stew for seasoning and declares it done. He takes it off the heat, finds a trivet for the table, and places the stewpot on it. He slices some of the rye bread. The rest of the table is already set. Lucas walks over to Allan and kisses him on the forehead. “Wake up sleeping beauty,” whispers Lucas.

Allan’s eyes flutter open, and he looks up at Lucas. “What did you call me?”

“I was talking to Pippa, not you.” 

“There’s a small blanket on the bed. Could you get it please?” Lucas nods and goes to fetch the blanket. He makes a nest on the sofa and puts pillows down on the floor, so Pippa has somewhere soft to jump on. Allan places the sleeping dog in the middle of the blanket and tucks it around her. 

Both men head to the dinner table, and Lucas says quietly, “tell me everything,” while Allan dishes out the food onto dinner plates. Allan laughs, passing Lucas his plate. "Eat something first while I get my thoughts in order. I feel foggy today." Lucas looks at him tenderly, thinking, Another few minutes won't hurt. They both sit and start to eat. 

“So it’s going well?” Lucas ventures after a comfortable silence. 

Allan nods, clarifying, “the therapy?”

“Yeah, I mean if you agreed about getting a dog?” Lucas says. He's still intrigued as to why Allan didn’t tell him, but he understands him well enough that he needs to tread carefully. Allan reveals things in stages. If you push him, he will only clam up. 

Allan takes another bite of his food, saying, “this is good.”

Lucas tries not to sigh. _ I have to curb my impatience. _

Allan, laughing, butters a piece of rye bread. Lucas realizes he’s teasing him and sighs. Allan explains, “Sorry! Yes, it's going well. I'm feeling better. My sleep is improved too. Fewer panic attacks, and when they happen, I've got the tools to deal with them.” The last few times it had happened, he remembered his breathing exercises and was able to come back fairly quickly. It felt good to claw back some control. “The dog thing came up two months ago, and I wasn’t sure about it at first.” Allan had been unsure about the responsibility and worried about how Lucas would react. “I also wasn’t sure how you would feel?”

Lucas smiles, “so you thought, springing it on me would do the trick?”

Allan shrugs."That wasn't how I planned it. To be fair, I thought I would have to wait another month. They called last minute, but, yeah, I was worried you would be upset.” 

“I'm not upset. I am delighted. I think it’s brilliant! Plus she can come on hikes with us,” Lucas says, and he means it.

“Good,” Allan says. “She's also supposed to help me with my panic attacks, sleep with me, and then I have someone to hold onto when I wake up alone. She can also alert me when I am out with her when I might have one and ground me. I've some training sessions to go to with her.” Allan pauses. “I was going to ask if you wanted to come?”

Lucas felt discomforted when he heard Allan say ‘when he wakes up alone,’ but the fact that he wants him to come to training sessions makes Lucas beam. “I would love that.”

“Good,” Allan says, smiling, “Yeah, I think it’s going to be a good fit, you know, for...us.”

The very fact that Allan is thinking this way makes Lucas so happy he could run around the table, a little like how the dog reacted when Lucas came in. Instead, he eats his food and tries not to grin like a madman. “Me too! I think it will be a good fit for us too.”

After dinner, they decide to take Pippa out for a walk. The season is changing, leaves beginning to color yellow and red. The air has a chill to it, but the sun’s still warm. It's beautiful. They smell wood smoke on the air as the cold wind rustles the trees. Pippa stays close to them; she runs only a little ahead and always checks to see if she is too far. “She is very well trained," Lucas remarks as Allan takes his hand, fingers entwined.

“Yeah, she should be,” Allan says, enjoying the weight of Lucas’ hand in his own. “Training is extensive.”

“So she is smarter than us!” Lucas says and laughs.

“Me maybe, not sure about you!” Allan smiles.

“I am glad it is all going well, though, with the therapy,” Lucas says and squeezes Allan’s hand. Allan sneaks a glance at Lucas; he can see his cheeks are beginning to redden in the cold. He looks beautiful in this failing light, his brown hair catching the sunlight.

He hums, “I never thought it would help.” Allan says. “I always thought I had to deal with everything on my own, you know? Asking for help was a weakness.”

Lucas lets those words settle for a moment before he responds, “yet you are the first to be there if anyone asks you for help, no judgment.”

Allan nods “yeah, that’s what my therapist said. I would never judge someone else, but I hold myself up to a different standard. I know I need to work on that.” 

Lucas squeezes his hand once more, and they walk for a few more moments in a comfortable silence. “Allan." Lucas eventually says and looks at him as they stop, Pippa is sniffing a pile of leaves with great interest, and they both watch her for a second. Lucas takes Allan’s arm, squeezing it gently, and continues, “You know you never have to wake up alone. If you don’t want to?”

Allan looks at Lucas, all blushing cheeks against pale complexion, his highlights glinting. He’s wearing a burnt-orange scarf wrapped around his neck. The color suits him. Allan cannot help but want to kiss him. “I know that,” he says quietly.

Lucas smiles, “I just mean if you ever need me to stay over, I can, or if you need to call me in the middle of the night, anytime.”

Allan laughs, “Do you want to be my therapy dog, Lucas? Trying to put Pippa out of a job already!”

Lucas shakes his head, “No. She can do things for you that I can’t. I mean, I am here If you need me.”

Allan meets Lucas’ brown eyes, feeling a swell of affection for this man beside him, walking in the autumnal light, holding his hand. “I know.” Allan leans forward and kisses Lucas, a chaste kiss against cold, but soon warming lips. “I know, and I thank you.”

“I am glad you are feeling better. I know it’s a process, therapy," Lucas says and feels awkward all of a sudden. “I don’t want to put pressure on you.”

Allan smiles and cannot quite believe how lucky he is that Lucas has stuck with him through all of this. He thinks back to the camping trip, and he knows most people would have run a mile from him after that. All his mood swings which he still has, they are getting better, but he knows he can be difficult. Lucas has his own problems too, and yet here he is, all concern and love. “Come here,” Allan says and pulls him close to him, behind the tree where Pippa is sniffing. He pushes him up against the trunk, brushing a hand through Lucas’ hair and presses his body close up against his. Their hands are still entwined. Lucas huffs out a breath as Allan gently leans in and presses his lips against Lucas’. It never fails to surprise Allan how soft his lips are.

It doesn’t take long before Lucas’ spare arm wraps itself around Allan’s waist, encouraging the kiss. Lips part and tongues brush up against each other. The kiss deepens, and Allan bites at those soft lips causing a beautiful moan to slip from Lucas’ mouth. They stay there pressed against the tree. Allan feels uncomfortable, like there are too many layers of clothes between them, feeling flushed.

Suddenly, he feels a nose pressed up against his leg. He looks down at Pippa as she drags her head along his calf and whimpers slightly. They both laugh, and Allan bends down to scratch her ears, “Good girl. I‘m okay!” He coos. “She senses my heightened blood pressure,” Allan explains while Lucas laughs.

“Then maybe we should keep walking,” Lucas says a little breathless as Allan runs his hands through Lucas’ hair once more. 

“One more kiss,” Allan says, not giving Lucas a chance to answer before he devours his lips in a kiss. Pippa huffs and carries on sniffing the piles of leaves close by.

Lucas breaks the kiss, and holds Allan close whispering in his ear, “It’s going to be an awkward question for the trainer, you know. If she reacts every time, I get your pulse racing. I wonder if there’s a phrase you can teach her, like an off switch for her?”

Allan laughs and buries his cold nose in Lucas’ neck, enjoying him yelp at the sensation. “Let’s go home. I think there’s still beer.” 

  


**Author's Note:**

> comments are the beautiful changing colours of the leaves and kudos is the burnt orange of Lucas' scarf


End file.
